News

Tickets to Jenni Rivera memorial sold out

Staff and wire reports

Posted:
12/18/2012 11:11:08 AM PST

Updated:
12/18/2012 08:59:30 PM PST

In this picture taken March 8, 2012, Mexican-American singer and reality TV star Jenni Rivera poses during an interview in Los Angeles. The wreckage of a small plane believed to be carrying Mexican-American music superstar Jenni Rivera was found in northern Mexico on Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012, and there are no apparent survivors, authorities said. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon) (Reed Saxon)

UNIVERSAL CITY — Tickets to Jenni Rivera's memorial service Wednesday sold out today within an hour, according to various media reports.

A limited number of tickets were available on a first-come, first-served basis Tuesday at noon. Organizers of the event did not return phone calls, and did not say how many tickets were available.

The service, billed by the Rivera family as a "Celestial Graduation," will be from 10 a.m. to noon at Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City. Rivera's brother, the Rev. Pedro Rivera Jr., will lead the ceremony.

The theater holds about 6,000 people.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department will have more deputies on hand for what's expected to be a large crowd, Sgt. Kevin Rasmussen of the Universal City substation said.

He said deputies don't know exactly how many people will be there, but they will prepare for a sold-out crowd.

Sold-out events are a near-daily event at the venue, Rasmussen said, so the Rivera event isn't expected to be anything out of the ordinary.

"We're pretty much used to dealing with this," he said

Rivera, a 43-year-old Long Beach native, died Dec. 9 when her rented Learjet LJ25 crashed in northern Mexico about 15 minutes after departing Monterrey, Mexico. Six other people aboard also died.

The singer was en route to Toluca, outside Mexico City.

The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, fans make donations to the Jenni Rivera Love Foundation, along with a single white rose.

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Burial services will be private.

Born in Long Beach, the mother of five who maintained an estate in Encino dominated the "banda" style of regional Mexican music popular in California and northwestern Mexico. She was one of the biggest stars on Mexico television and was popular on "regional Mexican" stations in California.

Rivera lived a tumultuous life, which was the basis for much of her music. She had been married and divorced three times, the last time from former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Esteban Loaiza.

The singer, who sold more than 15 million records, sang songs of heartbreak and abuse. She had her own reality show, and ABC was developing a comedy pilot for her, according to the entertainment website Deadline.com.